I went to my shop a couple days ago to pick something up and found a brown box on my desk with a UPS label on it. On closer examination I saw that it was from Spellbinders. Odd, I thought. I haven't ordered anything from them for ages. I cut the box open and found it filled with about four packages of new, highly sought after, Wizard dies. As I puzzled over this, a slip of paper fell out from between two of the die packages. It was an invoice to Carol in Texas. They had taken her order, charged it to her credit card and shipped it to me in Iowa. Go figure.
Of course, no one was at Spellbinders when I called them, as they were no doubt all at the big trade show. So, I called Carol, whose phone number was on the invoice, to let her know that I had received the order she was waiting for. "Oh," she sighed, "I was hoping that would arrive today, as it is a birthday present for a friend whose birthday is this weekend." She was glad to know where it had strayed off to (Arizona to Iowa, instead of Arizona to Texas).
Then we got to talking. It turns out she closed a store three years ago, so we commiserated about how hard it is to figure out how to liquidate the inventory and how painful it is to lose touch with customers who have come to be close friends. One thought led to another and we discovered that we both lost parents when they were only in their early 70's, we both had our youngest children at about the same age, both viewed our work as ministry more than anything else. I shared that my husband was on his way to Israel for two weeks and I was concerned about the "heightened alert" status. She asked for his name and promised to add him to her prayer list. Before we knew it, we had talked for over an hour and were reluctant to sever the connection, so we exchanged email addresses and the promise to continue the "conversation."
I was going about my normal business, a little lonely and distracted, and God used the shipping department at Spellbinders to orchestrate an unexpected and unsought blessing in this "chance" encounter with a stranger, who turned out to be, in fact, a kindred spirit. Thank you, Lord, for this breath of kindness on my day.
4 comments:
Welcome to the blogging world!!! You have such a gift for words (among other things too). I look forward to checking in from time-to-time for some inspiration and creativity.
Best Wishes.
Deb B. in CF
Yes welcome! ...very much enjoyed your pictures and writings.
The saying that you don't miss what you have until its gone is so true in this case. I only stopped at your shop once (I live in Cedar Falls) and I loved it. I really wish now that I had made a point to stop by more often. I love your emails, you have such a positive attitude in a extremely rough time. You have a gift of writing that I'm sure will be used to continue to touch more people in the future. I will hold your husband in my prayers while he is gone (and YOU!) and know that its the economy that was the downfall. Bless you and your spirit - great things are to come.
Deb,
I really like your pictures. This is way to much snow. In fact, my husband and I think this is the most snow we have ever seen in one winter! I'm really glad you started this blog because I love to hear what you and your family are doing. Sure wish you would post some cards from time to time with maybe a new technique (with directions of course)!! Hope your husband's trip is going well. Maybe you can post some pictures when he comes home. Take Care and stay warm
Marilyn
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